As 2015 draws to a rainy and chilly close, I’ve had time to think back on what I’ve been up to on two wheels over the year, and one thing that struck me more than ever this year, is that I’ve learned a lot from just riding a bike.
There have been (and continue to be!) an awful lot of upheavals this year, and throughout all of it, cycling has been one of the constants that has has helped keep me calm and sane (kind of!), shaping my thinking and teaching me plenty of stuff that I probably should already have known.
A couple of years back, I undertook my first training with British Cycling, gaining a level 2 coaching award that means I’m qualified and insured to run training sessions. There were several reasons why I attended the course and though I’ve since not had as much time as I’d like to focus on coaching (mainly because of a need to earn a living – to date, I’ve only run free training sessions), I felt so rewarded by the feedback I received that I decided to get involved with another British Cycling award this autumn.
Unlike some comparable outdoor activities (such as kayaking), at present there is more than one company offering mountain bike leader qualifications, which is slightly confusing for those interested in training, as well as for people looking to hire qualified staff. I’ve heard that there may be some efforts to ‘tidy things up’ in the future, though I’m not 100% certain that’s the case, but either way, I felt training with British Cycling was the right path for me as British Cycling aren’t going to disappear soon and it’s a name and brand that I respect.
The Level 2 Mountain Bike Leader Award differs slightly from the other coaching qualification I have because it’s designed to give you the required skills to take a group of riders on a safe, enjoyable off-road ride, rather than to teach you the techniques required to develop participant’s riding skills. It covers everything you need to know in order to plan and deliver a great ride experience, as well as trailside repairs, emergency procedures and navigation.
The course is offered in several locations around the UK, the nearest to me being delivered by Exmoor Adventure in Porlock, so I headed over to that pretty part of the world for a weekend of fun and learning with Dan French.
The first two days of the course are spent in a regular classroom and then in my preferred teaching environment – outdoors. Hopefully, this doesn’t make me sound like too much of a baby, but I was fully prepared for the classroom stuff to be a little on the boring side, firstly because the classroom environment is something I’m not used to, but also because it can be hard trying to teach a group of students with wildly differing knowledge of the subject and I thought we might spend hours going over quite basic stuff. I’ve also experienced teachers who revert back to treating you like a child, and that doesn’t go down well at all with me.
Yes, I’m grumpy sometimes.
In the event, I was wrong to have anticipated anything of the sort. The content of the course was really interesting and useful and Dan’s teaching style was very engaging.
We began at 9am with introductions before moving on to what we could hope to deliver upon completion of the course, what would make a suitable ride, routes and obstacles that might fall outside the remit of a Level 2 leader and how we’d use our skills. The teaching was lively and informal, and we sat in a semi-circle discussing topics and sharing our experiences in leading and coaching, all of the students having previously worked with groups in one capacity or another. We then moved onto the trailside repair module, where we raced against the clock to fix inner tubes (I came last, and fully blame the fact I had a semi-fat 27plus tyre!), indexed our gears, checked brakes, repaired chains and learnt about the million different mech hangers on the market. I love bike tinkering, so it was pretty fun.
Our next module was out on the bikes and took the format of Dan demonstrating how he’d lead a ride, complete with a bike safety check, a few core skills and some games and whatnot. It’s so damn nice around Porlock and we all got on so well that it was quite hard to remember we were actually training, rather than a group of friends just messing about on our bikes together. We finished the day with a brief look at risk assessments (they still confuse me), before moving onto route planning and ‘leader equipment.’
The ‘leader equipment’ is all the gubbins that a ride leader is expected to carry in her bag, which is totally bonkers really – not only will I need to get a much larger backpack, I’ll also have to start going to the gym right now in order to be able to carry it once I qualify. You need to take food, drink, tools, spares of absolutely everything, a space blanket, an emergency shelter, clothes, first aid kit and more. It’s going to cost quite a lot of money getting all that together.
The route planning part of the course was of particular interest to me, as we were working with paper maps and compasses, something I’ve little experience with having been raised on Googlemaps and an iPhone’s little blue dot – hell, Dave and I even navigated our way around Japan using phones! I’ve always wanted to use a compass and proper map so I asked plenty of questions, knowing we’d be using the compasses up on the wilds of Exmoor the following day. And at 7pm we called it a night and trotted off with our homework – creating a route card with detailed instructions for Sunday’s ride.
We gathered bright and early on Sunday morning for our practical outdoor session, where we’d learn more about group management techniques by leading a ride made up of fellow students and Dan, who you had to watch especially closely as he might sneakily hang back to make you think you’d lost someone! I kicked things off by taking everyone through a bike and equipment test, then Chris lead us on the route we’d marked out the day before – straight up a massive hill to wake our legs up.
The day continued in the same vein – we’d take it in turns to lead a few miles of the route discussing techniques as we went along. I was really glad to learn in a practical manner that made us think on our feet, rather than having techniques drummed into us in classroom. Every couple of kilometres, Dan would stop us and present us with some sort of challenge, whether that was taking a bearing with the compass or figuring out coordinates, or we’d talk about how we’d handle an emergency based on the location we were in and the escape routes available. To cover hydration and nutrition we ate the lunch we’d brought with us and talked through what riders could consider eating and how to manage water consumption, all pitching in with our own knowledge on the subject. It was a great way to learn and we all enjoyed exploring such a lovely part of the world.
After bike washing and a change of clothing we had time for a debrief with Dan, going over what we think we need to work on before our final assessment day. The third day of the course usually takes place at least six weeks after to the first two to give you time to put into practice all the techniques you’ve learned and iron out any kinks where necessary. I’ve decided that my homework is primarily to practice navigating the old school way, with map and compass, so I’ll be getting out on Dartmoor a lot in December and trying my hand at following and exploring routes.
A big thanks to British Cycling and Exmoor Adventure for a great day. Check back in a couple of months for the next installment.
Women’s padded cycling pants are somewhat divisive. I’ve seen grown women take to Twitter to loudly complain that they’re stupid, telling anyone who’ll listen that they’re perfectly happy riding to the shops without padding. Either that or they don’t see what’s wrong with wearing cycling shorts as an outer layer.
But here’s the thing – cyclists come in all guises, and I’d say you should wear what you damn well please, whether it’s what makes you comfortable, what makes you feel pretty, or something that makes you feel fast and powerful. So if you’re happy with your regular underwear on a bike, that’s fine, and good for you.
Some women like a little padding to keep them comfortable in the saddle but still want to wear their regular clothing rather than dressing up to go cycling, so that’s where padded cycling pants like these come in. I’ve actually tried some before, but goddam they were awful – so ugly and nappy like that they reminded me of hospital knickers or something.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Mercifully, Sweaty Betty’s Touring Padded Cycling pants are nothing like that. They’re a flattering shape that comes up high at the back for full coverage and are cut low on the legs, which looks cute. Unfortunately I did find the leg holes a little bit on the tight side on my Size Smalls, but if I were to go up a size then the pants would be too big in other areas as this pair are a good fit around the torso and bottom. Maybe they’d work better if they were cut more like ‘boy shorts.’ Or maybe you just need legs like twiglets.
The fabric is soft, stretchy, cool and quick drying, and a mesh panel at the rear helps breathability in the small of the back. The pad itself is thinner than you’d find in most ‘proper’ cycling shorts, but I think that suits the design and intent of these pants. It’s more than adequate for for light riding on short commutes or at spinning class and as the pad is bonded to the fabric rather than sewn, there are seams that might chafe. I found they became more comfortable after a couple of washes, as they seemed to soften up a bit.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
The verdict? A good choice for a little extra comfort when you’re in your civvies, just double check the sizing.
I’ll admit to being a bit skeptical when I first I first heard about plans for the 417 Project from the guys at FlyUp Downhill. A brand new mountain bike facility with downhill runs, dirt jumps, two indoor riding barns, a 4X track, dual slalom, air bag and drag lift? Hell, we even thought of choosing a home closer to the place when we moved back from Italy last year.
In the end, we chose good old Devon because we just love it here, but 417 Project certainly remained an alluring prospect so I’ve been keeping an eye on FlyUp’s website and Facebook ever since, just hoping for a little update on what the team have been doing.
They’ve been keeping things very quiet indeed, so for my first Wideopen Magazine feature I decided to make my way over to Gloucestershire to get a sneak preview to share with my equally curious friends.
Unfortunately, whilst I was there I got an absolute blinder of a migraine whilst there which meant I could only see out of half of my right eye. I did manage to get a few runs in on the Marin but I wasn’t exactly smashing it!
Isn’t life amazing? Who’d have thought that by messing about on a fixed gear bike and noting a few random thoughts down on this here blog that I’d end up riding all kinds of bikes and working with some amazing companies? Sometimes if just all feels too good to be true!
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I’m super excited to be working with the legendary Marin Bikes over the next year – as part of my new job at Wideopen Magazine, the full-on legit and OG mountain bike brand have hooked me up with a 2016 Attack Trail 9 which I’ll be riding and reviewing over the next year. It’s going to be interesting to see how my impression of the bike changes as I get to know it better, and as I take it to new and varied places.
British Cycling’s Breeze initiative is one of most successful schemes for encouraging and assisting women to get into cycling and I’ve long admired the hard work the team at British Cycling and their network of hugely dedicated volunteers have put into it.
Breeze is the biggest programme ever organised for female cyclists in the UK, and its aim is quite simply to get more women enjoying riding bikes for fun.
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So how does it work?
It’s simple? Breeze Champions organise fun, social bike rides, list them on the website and then all you need to do is search for one near yourself, sign up and head to the meeting point with your bike. All the rides are of different lengths, for different abilities and take place on different terrain, whether that’s a closed road circuit, cycle path or road. The thing they all have in common is a welcoming approach and helpful attitude.
Part of Breeze’s mission is to celebrate the diversity of cyclists, to share a message that bikes are for everyone. I was delighted when they featured me on the site and asked me a few questions, including what my favourite post-ride meal it.
Fancy meeting new people and going for a festive ride? On the weekend of December 19th and 20th Strongher ambassadors around the world are leading festive rides in their hometowns and you’re invited.
Come on a guided tour of your area with all the details taken care of. Simply pack a spare inner tube, a drink and money for mince pies, then adorn yourself with tinsel (if you want) and join a friendly pedal where no one will be left behind.
My Devon ride takes place at 10am on Saturday December 19th. Meets at Fermoy’s Garden Centre on Totnes Road for a mid pace 60km with a stop for coffee cake half way through. Though Strongher is a women’s cycling initiative, this ride is open to everyone, so please come and join me, bring your friends and partners and let’s have a good time!
Strongher will give away 5 prizes for participants with the best outfits or photos, so bring your phone along and upload a snap with the #Strongher #X-MasRide hashtags to be in with a chance of winning.
After my first ever summer of training a racing, when the crit season drew to a close I was left mourning the loss of an activity I’ve very quickly grown to love, so despite a couple of spirit crushing races in the past, a couple of weeks ago I decided to give Cyclocross another chance. What I really would prefer to be doing over winter is racing Track, but with the nearest velodrome a five-hour round trip that includes astronomical charges to cross the bridge into Wales, track simply isn’t an option.
With the cross season fast drawing to a close, admittedly, I left it a little late, but never having particularly enjoyed ‘cross in the past I wasn’t exactly wildly motivated. I left it until the South West Cyclocross Series came to the venue nearest me – Stover School – so that I wouldn’t have to travel too far in order to make my lungs bitterly complain whilst they struggle for oxygen.
Find out how I got on in my piece ‘When Cross Makes You Cry’ on the Brooks Blog.
The guys at Charge Bikes are my longest running supporters, seeing fit to hook me up with the now iconic Charge Plug fixed gear bike way back when everyone was getting excited about riding single speeds in the city. I’ll forever be grateful to them for their support!
Just as my riding has evolved since then, so has the Charge Bikes line up and as the brand frequently pick up on new trends before they’re on anyone else’s radar, I often get to test out new, fun toys!
Along with disc brakes on road bikes and whether or not gravel bikes are something new or not, mountain bike tyre size has been a much debated topic in the bike industry, and after a brief foray into 29 inch bikes Charge have redesigned their Cooker range for the 27 plus/ demi-fat tyre size.
In this video, I have a play on the Cooker 4 27 Plus and tell the gang what I’ve been up to since our last video – mainly racing track bikes and riding mountain bikes. And if you’re interested to know how I got into mountain bikes after a shaky start, check out my post on the Strongher website.
Rather than giving stuff up or trying to think of ways to be ‘a better me,’ when a brand new year begins I prefer to spend time thinking about what I’d like to do over the coming 12 months.
This year, I began by titling my list ‘Goals for 2016,’ but as I started writing things it became clear that I don’t really have any specific goals as such, more a bunch of things of things I’m probably going to do anyway. So rather than having to push myself and be motivated, my main struggle is going to be having enough time and money to do everything I want to do.
When it comes to setting real goals, that are specific, measurable, achievable and all down to me (rather than being affected by others), I’ve been struggling. I’d like to be fitter and faster as racing is even more enjoyable when you are, but how can I measure my fitness? I could write that I’d like to finish in a higher place at the Red Hook Crit, but my fitness isn’t the only determining factor in that – it depends on the performances of the other riders too.
So whilst I figure out a way of setting some fitness targets (any tips gratefully received!), here’s my kind of sort of list of cycling goals for 2016.
Compete in all events in the Red Hook Crit series.
Enter (my first) road race.
Upgrade my British Cycling race license to Cat 3.
Compete in a round of the UK Enduro Series.
Go to Eroica California.
Take my mountain bike to Morzine.
Go on a training camp
Go to Malaga and ride Ruben Alcantara’s skatepark.
Go cycle touring and camp out.
Get to the velodrome once a month.
Enter at least three cross races
Qualify as a British Cycling Mountain Bike Leader.
Race (some of) track league (I can’t afford to go very often as the velodrome is so far).
2015 was a pretty crazy 12 months. At the beginning of the year, Dave and I had just moved back from Italy, and were thoroughly enjoying being able to do simple things such as renew your car tax without having to go to three different offices that only open for half an hour a week, as well as eating baked beans and other British delicacies.
Having not initially planned on being in the UK I had no great scheme for the year, instead deciding to just make things up as I went along and enjoy every opportunity that came my way. And that worked out just fine; it was a great year, packed with surprise adventures and unexpected fun, plenty of riding, coverage and even some awards! But most of all, I had lots of fun on all my bikes.
To kick things off, I won an award for this very blog, being named Cycling blog of the year – a nice beginning after being nominated for several awards in the past and not coming out on top!
In March, Assos photographer Phil Gale flew to the UK to shoot some photographs to appear on the brand’s social media, braving some horrific British weather in the pursuit of imagery, then I flew out to Switzerland to shoot some images for advertising and the new Assos catalogue. We also shot a video up in the mountains, due for release soon I think. The Assos shoots were followed by one with Met Helmets, who visited me in Devon to get some images to use for their own catalogues, social media and advertising.
In May, I entered my first Downhill Mountain bike race, Steel City DH, finishing eighth out of the 31 women in my category, which was not too bad for a first attempt. After that, I headed to Wideopen Magazine’s Local’s Only day at Triscombe, which wound up being fun and productive – I now write for the mag.
In June my first full page Assos advert appeared in Cyclist magazine. June was also the month that I suddenly decided to enter the Red Hook Crit, embarking on a desperate four week’s of training to try and get race ready. Charge Bikes sent over a new custom track bike for me to ride at the race in London.
Then it was off to Wales with Peugeot for the weekend. Read the interview here, or check out the video:
In August, I managed, headed up and promoted some rides for Fred Perry, creating a blueprint for their ‘ride-outs’ to be replicated for rides in Tokyo, Paris, New York and Munich. Then it was off to Barcelonato race in the Red Hook Crit.
September, I joined the Assos team to launch the new Assos Equipe rides in London, of which there’ll be plenty more this year, then it was off to explore Catalonia on two wheels. What a place!
In October I went to London for the launch of new women’s cycling initiative, Strongher, with Marian Vos, Manon Carpenter and a whole host of amazing women. Make sure you check out the Strongher website for all kinds of cool stuff, including a tale of how I almost didn’t get into mountain biking. It was lucky I did get into mountain biking, because the following week I went to Triscombe for a Fox shoot with Tahnee Seagrave and Sam Reynolds. Happy to say I’m now on the Fox team!
A photo posted by Juliet Elliott (@julietelliott) on
In November, I headed over to Exmoor to begin my mountain bike leader award training with British Cycling and impulsively bought a jump bike, which was entirely silly given the time of year.
I squeezed in a little Charge Bike video shoot, to showcase their new 27plus range of mountain bikes:
Then I finished up the year by helping take over local mountain bike club and trails, TQ3 Riders, thereby securing the future of the bike park at Scadson Woods. Then I entered a cyclocross race and won my category and finally, spent a few days up in Essex enjoying riding my track bike.
Recently a friend came to stay with me, a fellow snowboarder and (lapsed) skateboarder and during a lovely long walk across Dartmoor in the rain, the subject turned to women in sport, as it often does when I have anything to do with it.
I was telling this friend how I admire the diverse style and fashion sense amongst the current crop of female skateboarders, and how refreshing I found it that some ladies wholeheartedly embrace their girlishness rather than hiding away any aspect of femininity, whilst others shave their heads and dress entirely in black.
Back in the day when I was a pro-snowboarder, it felt different. Struggling to find your place in a new, male-dominated sport, it often seemed easier to abandon your femininity in order to be part of the gang, because the only gangs were almost entirely male. Being girly was definitely NOT COOL because it was seen as silly and weak, and if you wanted to win your place in the crew you had to be tough. By being androgynous and almost asexual, by being ‘one of the lads.’ you could gain more respect and acceptance. But of course you couldn’t be too masculine either, because that automatically meant you were a lesbian.
I feel like things have moved on a bit since then, partly because it was ages ago but also because the mood has shifted somewhat. Looking at the female skaters’ Instagram accounts and videos, what strikes me is that they’ve chosen to be women first, and skateboarders second, rather than allowing the fact they like skateboarding to dictate how they should appear, like we did on our snowboards. Yes, they still get judged (as all women AND men do) but at least they are doing things their way, with their personalities shining through and each as different as the one before. Being ‘girly’ seems more OK than it used to be, as does not conforming to a traditional gender role.
So how about the bike industry? Are we as enlightened?
Maybe not quite. One of the things that springs to mind when I think of women’s cycling fashion and style is people’s howling, desperate objections to anything made in pink, or anything remotely girly. Some women get absolutely furious at the sight of anything vaguely (traditionally) feminine, saying it’s demeaning. I understand how annoying it is when pink is the only choice, or when the women’s range is a badly considered afterthought, but I really dislike the negative connotations surrounding traditional femininity. Being feminine isn’t weak or stupid.
Wanting to wear make up under your fullface helmet, doesn’t mean you’re any less serious about mountain biking than someone who doesn’t care for mascara. You shouldn’t need to jettison the glitter should you wish to prove your worth. Being a girl is many, many things, and none of them have anything to do with sport! Some women like pink, some like black. Some both.
Last year at the Red Hook Crit, I had a bit of a wobble getting on the rollers in the warm up zone because I hadn’t been on them for a while and everyone was watching me do it, godammit! Luckily, I’ve had a bit of practice since then – I now ride the rollers fairly regularly at home as it’s a good leg loosener and it helps me smooth out the kinks in my pedalling. When it comes to flat out, horrid high intensity intervals, I stick to my turbo as I can really get my head down and smash it without fear of falling off, but rollers are far more fun to ride as there’s a small degree of skill involved, so you have to kind of pay attention to what you’re doing.
In case you get the wobbles hopping on your rollers too, or you just haven’t tried it yet, here’s a quick video I made to show you how to get started in an easy, safe way.
I hope you like the video! If yo have any questions, or if you would like to see more videos, please let me know if the comments.
Last June, after year upon year of just messing about on my bikes, I decided to give racing a bit of a go and got stuck into some proper training with the help of James from High Rise Coaching. I’d previously not been too keen on the purely athletic side of cycling, but with a clear goal in mind (racing Red Hook Crit) and short, sharp, engaging training sessions prescribed by James, I ended up getting pretty into training, working out in the gym, and paying a bit more attention to my body and its demands.
One of things I began doing after every ride was a series of stretches and some foam rolling, initially using a home-made foam roller I’d fashioned out of a PVC pipe, some lagging and tape, and eventually graduating to a ‘proper’ foam roller that I grabbed eBay (or was it Amazon?).
It really, really hurt at first, even with the relatively squishy, smooth DIY roller but I persevered as I’d been reliably informed that using a foam roller is one of the only ways of stretching your Iliotibial Band, the band of fibres that runs all the way down the outside edge of the thigh. A tight IT band is a common cause of knee pain, and though I don’t myself suffer from knee problems, I’d very much like to keep things that way, so foam rolling has stayed in my routine.
Using a foam roller gives your sore, tired muscles a good massage, which can promote recovery and can (supposedly) keep your myofascia, the connective tissue surrounding your muscles, nice and supple. I’m not a trained health/fitness professional so I can only go on what I’ve been told and how I feel, and after eight months of using a foam roller I’ve discovered that my legs feel better if I use one and I seem to experience less soreness in my legs the next time I ride.
The following video shows how to use a foam roller after cycling, in case you’d like to try it yourself. Just a quick note – at the end of the video I refer to using a smaller roller or a tennis ball on your backside – this is to massage the piriformis, an area in the glutes that I find gets quite tight and painful, which in turn makes my lower back sore. If you get this problem too, I’d definitely recommend using a tennis ball to roll over the area, in fact, perhaps I’ll make a video explaining that.
If you like the video, please subscribe to my channel and let me know what videos you would like to see in future. Thanks!
I’ve been told that I seem like a rather laid back kinda lady. Odd really, because though I am pretty chilled about some things, I’m actually a real worrier and once I get a bee in my bonnet about something I can become sometimes quite crippled with anxiety. I find it very hard to let stuff go – I endlessly ruminate and that’s one of the reasons I very much need cycling in my life.
Unfortunately, one of the side effects of adopting a slightly more formalised training routine (in June, last year) is that I’ve now given myself one more thing to be anxious about – namely not training! I get really quite angsty if I can’t fit in the workout I’ve planned, fretting that I’m losing my fitness, I won’t be able to keep up in any races, my next club run will be too fast etc. etc. You name it, I worry about it.
In order to stave off the madness somewhat and to take full advantage of my strong desire to be active, I’ve a grab bag of indoor training ideas to dip into so I can at least do something if my outdoor plans are thwarted by weather, life, work, whatever.
My recent guest post on the Velovixen site details some of these. Take a look and let me know what you think in the comments. In my next post, I’ll go into greater details about some of the turbo training and body weight exercises that I do to compliment my training, so stay tuned for the next instalment!
Have you ever considered starting something brand new, trying a new activity retraining or whatever and then wondered if it’s too late? Me too, but it never, ever is.
I remember when I was seventeen, I really wanted to learn to play the guitar but everyone that I knew who could play had been doing so since they were kids, so I thought there was no point. Can you imagine, thinking it’s too late at the age of seventeen? Ridiculous really, but I really thought I’d missed the boat and that I’ve never be able to catch up, so I didn’t bother learning. Two years later, at the age of nineteen, I still wanted to play the guitar and I realised that if I’d just got on with it the first time, I’d already have been playing for two years! I just had to take that first step, so I picked up a guitar, gave it a go, and never looked back.
I’ve always remembered what that experience taught me, so these days I aim to not hesitate if I want to try something, I try to just get on with it. Everything and everyone has to begin somewhere so before I know it, I’ll have gained experience and progressed. Stay on the sofa, and I’ll only ever be sitting right there on my arse.
A first attempt can take guts. It’s scary putting yourself out there when you don’t know how you’ll fare. But once you’ve got it out of the way, who knows where it might lead? I didn’t grow up a ‘bikey’ family and came to cycling really late. But thanks to that incident with the guitar, I’m not afraid of taking the plunge and giving stuff a go. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. That’s just life, and all part of the fun.
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Back in 2007, I took the plunge with something brand new and unknown to me when I built my own fixed gear bike. I had no real knowledge of bikes, zero mechanical know-how and no experience of ever riding a fixed gear bike. All I had was a willingness to give it a go and a desire to gain experience as I went along. That desire to try something led me to where I am today, which is an AWESOME PLACE!
So always remember, it’s never too late for any of us! What’s really, honestly stopping you? It drives me nuts when people say ‘oh, I wish I did that, I wish I could do that,’ because there’s really no reason that they can’t. Why can I, when they can’t? I never used to ride BMX either….until I decided to start riding BMX! And to further state the obvious, well, I never rode mountain bikes until… I hopped on one.
This time last year, I’d never raced Red Hook Crit, and nor did I know that I ever would, but this year, I’m going to race the whole series, because in 2015, I took the plunge and got my first one out of the way. Who’d have thought I’d ever be a bike racer? Definitely not me!
It’s all too easy to get blasé about where you live, what you do and where you ride. We so easily forget to notice and appreciate all the little things in life that make it comfortable, fun or unique.
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Take tea bags, for instance. Live in a foreign country for any amount of time and you’ll know that the only tea bags in the whole damn world that make a proper cuppa come from our sweet isles, and our isles only. Whenever I travel, I always take British tea bags with me in order to knock up a proper brew, but even then it just doesn’t taste the same – it must be something to do with our water or milk. Back in the UK, a cup of tea is just a cup of tea – I mean, I love it, but it’s just a drink. Take it away from me though, and GODDAM!
It’s the same with a lot of things – familiarity can make stuff seems less exciting, so when you’re pounding the same little roads, day in, day out, they can seem like nothing special at all. The grass is always so much greener where everyone else in riding, the sun is shinier, the climbs more spectacular. But “all it sometimes takes is a change in season… and oureyes can once again be reopened to the scenery that we travel through on two wheels.”
Being based in a really rather lovely part of the world, ASSOS of Switzerland know a thing or two about beautiful landscapes, and visiting them for a ride around Lake Lugano is a real treat for me. But they know that there are other brilliant aspects that rival that Ticino sunset, and some of them are right where you already live if you keep your eyes open and mind curious. After a recent visit to see me in Devon, the brand shared the story of their trip and some gloriously bleak photographs of me freezing my something or other off.
Check it out and read the story of my return to the UK.
I have to say, I really rather like my job, or jobs, Ok, so I don’t make a whole bunch of money, but I get to ride bikes a hell of a lot and go to some awesome places. Who needs fancy restaurants anyway? I’m usually too tired to do anything except stuff my face in front of the TV once I’m done riding!
One of the major perks of being a rider and writer is getting to visit some top locations,and as much as I enjoy being there, I also love sharing my experiences to help you decide where to go and how to spend your precious pennies.
I’m as big a fan of the UK as I am of travelling, so the best riding spots are not necessarily abroad, however sometimes our weather can leave a little to be desired. Some winters, I find myself getting a little gloomy in January and Feb, so for me it’s a better time to get away and get some sun on my face than the summer; summer in the UK is actually really nice – it almost never gets too hot to ride!
With that in mind, I headed off to Malaga for a depression-busting Winter mountain biking holiday, checking out Roost DH’s new Enduro weeks for Wideopen Magazine. It did exactly what it says on the tin. Take a look at Wideopen Magazine for the full article.
For me, by far the most irritating thing about winter is the short days… well, that and having to wash your bike the whole time. The weather actually doesn’t bother me too much; I’m used to it, I’ve plenty of really good clothes to wear and getting muddy is an integral part of riding mountain bikes and cyclocross anyway.
The most obvious way of finding more time to ride in these winter months is by getting a really good set of lights, and happily, I’ve had those for road cycling for a long time now. Mountain biking at night is a bit of a new one for me though; I’ve always been too horrified by the price of off-road bike lights to ever invest in any! On my British Cycling Mountain Bike leader course, I had a conversation with a couple of riders about what lights they’d recommend and the first guy suggested one that costs £400, then the other chap recommended a ‘cheap’ light that ‘only’ cost £200! Bonkers!
I think I may have found a compromise:
Neos Cycling sent me the UGOE 6000LM Alloy CNC Front and 150lm rear high power light set to try out and though they’re still a price that will make you carefully consider your purchase – £160 – they work so brilliantly that they may be worth it. The set is a killer piece of kit for off-road nighttime adventures – the lights that are so bright you’re not even allowed to use them on public roads!
The lights arrive in a snazzy box, which not only makes you feel that you’re getting something fancy for all that loot, but also ensures you don’t lose any of the bits and pieces. Inside, you’ve got a massively powerful 6000 lumen front light, a 150 lumen (red) rear light, a rechargeable 7.4V lithium polymer battery, charger and assorted rubber mounting brackets.
You also get a remote control for switching wirelessly between settings on both lights. Pretty cool, huh?
Charging was a straight-forward affair – just plug in and leave for 4-6 hours – then all you’ve got to do is fasten the battery pack around your top tube using the Velcro fastening and attach the front and rear lights to your handlebars and seatpost. It all takes about a minute.
The casing of the light is made from anodized Aircraft grade aluminium, and is tough, durable and waterproof. The leads and input points are good and sturdy.
So how do they perform on the trails?
I was mightily impressed with how much I could see – on a pitch black, moonless night, the entire trail was light up as clear as day, with the light on the full power setting. I actually tended to use the mid-power setting most often, as it’s sufficiently bright. The beam is clear and ultra wide, making it ideal for cross-country or downhill mountain biking as you get a good sense of what’s around you, rather than just ahead of you. On full power, the battery life is about 2.5 hours, and on medium, I haven’t actually run it out on a ride yet. You’ve also got a low beam mode and a flash mode, though why you’d ever want a flash mode when you’re riding off road in the dark, I don’t know.
At the rear, you’ve a much lower power red light to show fellow trail users where you are without blinding them.
I attached the battery pack using the Velcro and was a bit concerned that it would flap about, fall off or get in the way. It did slide down the top tube, away from the handlebars, settling in what turned out to be a better place nearer the downtube. It stayed well put in that position so I always mounted it there afterwards. I never had any problems with the pack falling off, though if I was racing I’d probably put a couple of cable ties around it, just to be super sure it was 100% secure. I’d also put one towards the front of the top tube to keep the cable nice and neat against the frame.
If you mount the light on your helmet rather than your bars, the remote control is great. I prefer to have my most powerful light on my bars and found it was easiest to just adjust the front light directly, using the button to shuttle between modes. It worth noting however, that the light can get a bit hot when it’s been on for a long time.
The verdict? Well, £160 still seems a lot for some lights, but these are very good indeed and get my thumbs up!
One of my favourite parts of my job is visiting my sponsors Assos. With headquarters in Ticino and a very fancy ‘pro’ shop on the shores of the stunning Lake Lugano, it’s certainly never a chore, and not least because a bike ride is always on the cards.
Sometime last year I paid my buddies a visit and we headed off into the mountains to film this video showcasing the brand new laaLalai three quarter length tights, or ‘Knickers,’ as Assos prefers to call them. Naturally, I can’t resist chuckling at a video showing me riding around in knickers because knickers is what us Brits call girls’ underwear.
But jokes aside (and believe me, I’ve made plenty), these tights are superb – they use an extremely luxurious new women’s chamois that feels extremely luxurious, so watch out for them when they’re released.
And the video came out nicely too. Want to see me riding around in my knickers?
laaLalai_KnickersThe summer, and season of riding free on the most beautiful roads, is going to be here soon. So to celebrate here’s a little sneak preview of what you can expect.
Thanks to Juliet Elliott for taking the time to ride with us. We hear that you’re still dreaming of those nice Southern Swiss roads.
Image may be NSFW.
Image may be NSFW.
Image may be NSFW.
